Field of the Disclosure
This application relates generally to improvements to a seat arrangement structure. More particularly the present disclosure relates to improvements relating to a seat arrangement tracks that include a seat separator device to avoid contact between two seats.
Description of the Related Art
Vehicle seats are designed to offer comfort, and space to an occupant by allowing seat adjustments to a desired position. The adjustable vehicle seat allows an occupant to obtain a more comfortable seating position and to provide space behind, in front or on side of the vehicle seat to assist in entering and exiting the vehicle or storing objects.
Vehicle seats are typically mounted on a seat arrangement device. The seat arrangement device allows for relative movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle and other seats respectively. For instance the seat arrangement device provides for a seat to be moved away or moved toward other seats, moved in lateral (sideways) or longitudinal (forward and backward) direction of the vehicle.
One such example of a seat device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,745B2. This seat device includes a substantially flat floor surface substantially extending across a full cabin space of the vehicle, front row seats, center row seats and a rear row seat disposed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle on the floor surface.
The seat arrangement device assembly and seat mounting is often a complex process, as it involves various components assembled in a particular order to enable seat movement in a desired direction. One of the components of seat arrangement device is a track arrangement fitted with a seat sliding device to achieve the desired lateral and longitudinal movement of the seats. The lateral movement involves moving a seat towards a side of a vehicle or moving the seat towards the other seat followed by locking the seat in a desired position. Further, to lock the seat in a desired position a locking or latch mechanism may be provided.
A linear adjustable vehicle seat allows an occupant to obtain a more comfortable seating position and to provide additional space around the vehicle seat for ease of entering and exiting or storing objects. Further, latch mechanisms are generally known for locking the vehicle seat position at a plurality of locations. Seat latch mechanisms are generally known as pawl and positive engagement latch-type devices and mechanisms.
A part of the seat sliding device that assists in locking and unlocking the seat in a desired position is called a towel bar or operating handle assembly. Typically the towel bars employ a lever and rotation mechanism whose function is to place the locking mechanism in a locked or unlocked position. The towel bar operates when a vertical force is applied to the lever that leads to the rotation of a bar connected to the locking mechanism, thus placing the locking mechanism in the locked or unlocked position. The force may be applied by an operator.
Tracks of the seat arrangement device are typically fixed to the vehicle floor before mounting the seat on the seat arrangement device. During the seat mounting process as well as during the seat adjustment process it is desired to keep the seats apart for ease of mounting and comfort of the passengers. However during the seat adjustment process the sliding rails of the track may move towards each other without stopping and touch each other. To avoid an undesirable situation and to keep seats apart additional seat sliding control elements must be installed.
There remains a continuing need to provide improved seats having higher level of comfort and more degrees of freedom, provide greater performance to above than compared to the known seats.